What Businesses Can – And Should – Learn From The Recent Deloitte Cyber Attack

The latest in a string of cyber attacks targeting financial data, this incident involving Deloitte is a great example of why businesses need to stay on top of cybersecurity.

In late September, global accounting firm Deloitte confirmed that they had been the victim of a cyber attack that had compromised the sensitive data of a handful of their clients. While they’ve been tight-lipped about the specifics so far, they did state that they had contacted the six clients impacted by this breach, and are already taking steps to reevaluate their security protocols to keep a similar event from happening again in the future.

What we do know about this data breach is that it happened sometime between October of 2016 and March of 2017, when the breach was discovered. That attack targeted the firm’s US operations, using the company’s email platform to gain access to their network. Given that 80% of the Fortune 500 companies are clients of Deloitte, a breach of any size is deeply concerning given the huge volume of sensitive data they are responsible for.

Of course, the Deloitte attack is only the latest in a string of cyber attacks targeting financial data of businesses and individuals alike. The massive and extremely damaging Equifax data breach immediately comes to mind and proves that even the most sophisticated hackers are perfectly willing to set their sights on any bit of data that might prove useful or profitable for them. Information like Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and banking transaction details can make for a huge payday for a cybercriminal.

Size Absolutely Does Not Matter When It Comes To A Cyber Attack

Headline-making data breaches like this often make small and mid-sized business owners very nervous, and for good reason. Anytime a business of any size is compromised like this, it makes you wonder if there is a chance you might be next. With smaller-scale cyber attacks happening all the time that don’t garner front-page attention, it’s a very reasonable fear.

Cyber attacks and data breaches happen to smaller businesses on a regular basis, often because — unlike major corporations like Deloitte or Equifax — these businesses don’t have the budget or the resources to keep their cybersecurity up to date with the latest solutions and software.

However… the fact that these companies do have access to these resources and still fall victim to these cyber attacks raises a few questions. More often than not, it’s as simple as companies not investing in their cybersecurity the way that they should be. Solutions exist to help businesses avoid this type of breach from happening, but they’re only effective when they’ve actually been put to use.

This is actually good news for small businesses because what these giant breaches have shown us is that having great cybersecurity in place is just a matter of investing wisely and listening to security experts when they shed light on certain trends or types of threats and how they operate.

Learn From Their Mistakes To Avoid A Data Breach Of Your Own

The typical protocol after a data breach occurs is to have security experts step in and comb through your network to find out exactly what went wrong. More often than not these kinds of cyber attacks follow a very similar pattern and rely on the same security mistakes to be successful. Something as simple as a missed security update or a carelessly opened email attachment can be the cause of a cyber attack.

This is information we already know, and it’s the kind of lesson a good IT security provider tries to pass on to their clients when the topic of cybersecurity comes up. You don’t have to suffer through a worst case scenario of your own to benefit from the learning experience it creates. Seeing what other businesses have done wrong – or in some cases, the tiny thing they overlooked that led to a much bigger problem – gives you the opportunity to look at your own cybersecurity and take stock of what needs to change in order to protect your business from these threats.

Cybercriminals are getting smarter and more dangerous, but the cybersecurity industry is keeping pace. For every new threat that emerges, security experts are finding new ways to outsmart hackers and scammers and throw up more effective obstacles to keep cyber attacks from succeeding. Unlike how it has been in the past, you don’t need a Fortune 500 budget at your disposal to get these advanced security solutions to work for your business.

The most important thing for businesses to take away from this latest data breach incident is exactly that – it’s just the latest data breach incident. Hackers are continuing to target businesses of all types in order to gain access to valuable financial data they can profit off of. You might not think that your client data is valuable to anyone besides your business and your clients, but any piece of information that can be used to steal someone’s identity or be leveraged for financial gain has a price tag on it.

If nothing else, these ongoing attacks should have you picking up the phone to talk to your IT security provider. No matter how good you feel about your current cybersecurity measures, it never hurts to take a closer look at your systems and network to make sure you have all of your bases covered.

Want to learn more about what you can do to protect your business against a cyber attack? Contact Cooper Technologies at info@coopertech.net or (855) 303-5378 today. We’re the cybersecurity experts businesses in Sacramento trust.

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